Pressure vessel inlet valve



April 15, 1969 WOOD 3,438,608

PRESSURE VESSEL INLET VALVE Filed D60. 15, 1966 W "Tn I NVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,438,608 PRESSURE VESSEL INLET VALVE Elbert D.Wood, Lenox, Mass., assignor to Beloit Corporation, Beloit, Wis., acorporation of Wisconsin Filed Dec. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 602,005 Int. Cl.F16k 31/12, 1/16; B65g 65/30 US. Cl. 251--147 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The present invention relates to improvements in pressurecharging devices and more particularly to an improved control forcharging material such as wood chips into a pressurized tank through acontrol inlet to the tank.

In continuously processing compactible material such as wood chips,straw, bagasse, cotton linters and other cellulosic materials, it isnecessary to feed the materials through a duct communicating with thetank. The materials are compacted to a density suflicient to preventloss of pressure in the tank as they are charged. Because of thedifliculty of determining when adequate density is attained it iscustomary to compact the material more than necessary to maintain theseal. Charging must occur intermittently and the compacted material mustbe broken up as it passes through the charging unit. It is essentialthat the charging unit maintain a seal during times of intermittentfeeding and that it functions to permit such intermittent feeding,sealing when feeding does not occur, and breaking up the material duringcharging.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide animprovement in charging devices for pressure feeding material such aswood chips into a pressure tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved structure fora valve plate for a charging device wherein the valve plate ispositively controlled and positioned for breaking up the material andinsuring that the valve will return to scaling position when it isclosed.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved valveposition control mechanism for a charging device of the type disclosedin US. Patent 2,954,883.

Other objects, advantages and features will become more apparent inconnection with the teaching of the principles of the present inventionin the disclosure of the preferred embodiments thereof in thespecification, claims and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view with a portion broken away to show the valvemechanism; and

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along lineII--II of FIGURE 1.

On the drawings:

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 the charging device includes a duct 10through which the materials are delivered and compacted. While it willbe understood that the device is capable of operating in variousenvironments providing the advantages of the invention, for convenienceof description it will be described in connection with a chargingmechanism for charging wood chips into a pressure cooker mechanism.

The chips are compacted by a screw feeder 11 which densifies or compactsthe chips sufliciently to prevent the ice escape of pressure through theduct 10 from the delivery passage 13 which leads downwardly to thepressure cooker. The duct 10 leads through a horizontal opening 12 andthe delivery passage 13 leads downwardly at an angle transverse, or inother words at right angles to the opening 12.

The delivery duct 13 is provided in a housing 18 having a cleanoutopening 17 at the upper end. The cleanout opening is closed by cleanoutplate 14 held in place by bolts 15 which are threaded into a housingflange 16.

For controlling passage of the compacted chips through the opening 12,for sealing the opening .12, and for breaking up the compacted material,a material deflecting valve plate 19 is provided.

The valve plate is pivotally supported on a support pin 21 passingthrough flanges on the back of the plate and mounting it on a piston rod22. The piston rod passes through a seal 23 and the piston 22a isslidably received in a cylinder 24 which connects to a pressure controlline, not shown.

The deflecting valve plate 19 is movable from a closed sealing position(-as shown at the dotted line position of FIGURE 2) to an open position(as shown at the solid line position in FIGURE 2). In movement betweenthe closed and open positions, in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention, the angular position or attitude of the valve plate19 is positively controlled. This control positions the plate in apredetermined positive position, and also prevents sudden surges orfluctuations, or changes in force on the plate due to the compactedmaterial, from tipping the valve plate to a nonoperational position.Such tipping of the plate which might be caused by sudden expansion of aplug of material coming through the opening, when accompanied by asudden closing of the valve might jam the valve plate in anonoperational position and damage it, or destroy the seal so as toprevent further functioning of the charging mechanism.

For controlling the position of the valve plate it is pivotallysupported below its center so that thereby forces from the materialpassing through the opening 12 will normally act above the pivotalsupport point, and so that gravity will tend to tip the platedownwardly.

For controlling the position of the valve plate and preventing it fromtipping over backward (which would occur if the upper end could movefreely to the right, as shown in FIGURE 2), a pair of guide rails 25 and26 are positioned along the sides of the plate. These guide rails arebolted to supports 33 and 34 in the housing 18 by bolts 31 and 32. Theguide rails 25 and 26 are parallel to each other and are positioned at apredetermined angle so as to control the angle of the valve plate 19.

At the upper edge of the valve plate are rollers 27 and 28 mounted onbrackets 29 and 30 on the valve plate. The rollers are rolled down thedownwardly facing edges of the guide rails 25 and 26 in the mannerillustrated in FIGURE 2.

In operation during starting the valve plate is held in the closeddotted line position shown in FIGURE 2 until the screw feeder 11compacts suflicient material to prevent the escape of pressure. Thevalve plate 19 is then withdrawn a predetermined distance by the pistonrod 22 as the compacted material is delivered-through the opening 12 andengages the valve plate 19 to be broken up as it drops downwardlythrough the delivery passage 13. Normally the compacted material willcontinually engage the valve plate to be deflected downwardly, butshould the valve plate be free of engagement of material, it would beprevented from tipping completely downwardly by the heel 20a of thebrackets 20 engaging the shoulder 21a at the base of the slot of thepiston rod.

When the density of the material delivered by the screw conveyor 11becomes less, the pressure on the piston rod automatically tends to movethe plate to closed position. In other words there normally is acontinual pressure on the piston rod 22 to the left so that the opening12 will automatically become closed if the density of the material fedthrough he opening diminishes, and the valve plate 12 will be forcedtoward open position as the density increases, thereby maintaining aself-sealing charging mechanism. In all positions of the valve plate itwill be held in the desired attitude to obtain optimum dispersion orbreaking of the compacted delivered material.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an improved charging deviceand particularly a valve control apparatus which meets the objectivesand advantages above set forth. The mechanism is capable of continuedreliable operation without adjustment or attention and is so constructedas to avoid jamming or clogging due to the material being delivered.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a charging device having force means for compacting and feedingmaterial axially through a charging opening:

a delivery passage extending downwardly laterally of the opening,

a material deflecting valve plate moving through a path from a closedposition wherein the plate sealingly engages the opening, to an openposition wherein the plate is spaced axially away from the opening,

said plate being pivotally supported below its center for movement aboutan axis transverse of the opening and transverse of the delivery passagewith said plate deflecting material from the opening laterally into thedelivery passage in all positions of the plate spaced from the opening,

the improvement comprising means positively controlling the pivotalangle of the plate to a predetermined angle in all positions of thevalve plate so that the plate will remain accurately inclined relativeto the axis of the opening as it is moved from closed to open position.

2. In a charging device constructed in accordance with 4 claim 1 whereinsaid angle controlling means is connected to the upper free edge of saidplate for applying a force thereto transverse of the pivotal axis of theplate.

3. In a charging device constructed in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid angle controlling means includes an angular guide member extendingat an angle to the path of movement of the pivotal support of the plateand includes a member on the plate engaging said guide member andpositioning the plate.

4. In a charging device constructed in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid angle controlling means includes an angular rail extending at anangle to the path of movement of the pivotal support of the plate andincludes a sliding member attached to the plate slidingly engaging saidangular rail.

5. In a charging device constructed in accordance with claim 1 andincluding an angular rail extending at an angle to the path of movementof the pivotal support of the plate and including a roller on the upperedge of the plate engaging the rail and traversing therealong as theplate is moved between open and closed positions.

6. In a charging device constructed in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid angle controlling means includes a pair of rails mounted at eachside of the plate and further includes a roller at each side of theplate engaging the rails and moving therealong as the plate is movedbetween open and closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,121,707 6/1938 McGee 25l-299 XR2,954,883 10/1960 Durant 214-17 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,218,950 6/1966Germany.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

